


You Belong Here

by ThemSoundwaves



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (With Chronic Swearing), Alternate timeline of You Dont Need Saving, Angst, Blood and Injury, Chronic Pain, DR. W.D Slenderenderman, Dark Humor, Don't Like Don't Read, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Famous Gaster, Flirting, Fluff, GUYS I KNOW WHERE IM GOING WITH THIS, Gaster is an unorgnized mess, Gaster lives alone, He Shows Up Everywhere, Hurt/Comfort, I promise!, Illegal Activities, Illegal Fighting, Kind Gaster, Loneliness, No SOUL mates, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Persistent Gaster, Reader calls Gaster Slenderman. A lot, Reader can be a brat at times, Reader has personality., Reader is not Frisk or Chara, Reader never went to Highschool, Seriously Everywhere, Short Story, Slow Burn, Stealing, Swearing, Thoughts Of Suicide (Subtle), We Die Like Men, but its okay because we love him anyway, learning to live, more swearing, painkiller addiction, reader is female, reader swears like their lies depend on it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-25
Updated: 2021-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-26 06:07:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30101472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThemSoundwaves/pseuds/ThemSoundwaves
Summary: Once upon a time, You had everything.You were born into a loaded family. It goes without saying, anyone in their right mind would have stayed, At least until college.Not you, though.Nope.At thirteen, you chose to leave the security of your family’s wealthiness~You ran away.To this day you have no excuse for your actions.You left it all behind and built a new life for yourself in the slums of Ebott City.It was a dangerous life, the one you created, and at times you're not sure why you stay.You fight for money under the table at an illegal combat ring called The Grounds.Rents overdue, You lose more than you win, and chronic pain follows you wherever you go.Sometimes you wish you had a better life, but with no identification, and no idea how to get your life together, you remain stuck in a routine of headaches, injuries, and waking up next to dumpsters.You never expected anyone to help, because you've never had a friend to be concerned for you.Then you met the living version of Slenderman.Now help won't leave you alone.
Relationships: W. D. Gaster/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	You Belong Here

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, What's up?  
> It's me.  
> For anyone who has read You Don't Need Saving, You know how towards the last few chapters ive been suffering from a hardcore lack of a muse~ last year and this year has been pretty hard on me, and writing has been the LAST thing on my mind.  
> Then, all of a sudden, I got a muse.  
> And this was born  
>  **This stories purpose**  
>  This short story is here to help me get back into YDNS's mood, By the time this chapter is posted, I should already have at least the first 3 chapters finished.  
> I'm going to make it a goal, now that things have calmed down, to work on chapters of YDNS in between this fics chapters. Which will be posted twice a month as to not stress me out.
> 
> As you've probably gathered from this fics summary ~ this story is an alternate timeline of YNDS. It is relatively the same reader. (Some things have been changed to fit the story) going through the same motions, However, Gaster replaces the Skelebros, and it's only the OG universe. 
> 
> You can read this without reading YDNS, and this story's plot is it's own. 
> 
> Things that happen here will most likely **not** be incorporated into You Dont Need Saving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by the song- Blood And Candy, by Nanoo

You needed this.

You needed it. So damn bad.

If you could win this, rent for the month would be set. You needed a little more strength—a little more focus.

The crowd in the stands blurred into a mess of different colors; your head pounded so intensely that your eyes watered from the strain.

You've barely gotten any rest the night before, and you were still sore from the last time you fought. The man before you landed several hits, you had a bloody nose, a black eye, and you swore you broke your wrist.

This guy wasn't messing around.

Just another day in the grounds.

With your head spinning the way it was, you had no choice but to go full defensive. You twisted and slid away from his bloodied fists with all the street knowledge you had.

Your movements were sluggish, choppy. His fists missed your face by inches, so close you could feel the warmth as they passed by.

Transparent darkness crept at the edges of your vision; you could not go on like this. You needed that money. You couldn't leave empty-handed. The landlord would not extend his generosity any longer.

You'd be without a home by the end of the week if you didn't win something soon.

So, you shoved aside the pain and your need to complain, and with his last strike, you pivoted, rocked to the side, then lunged forward with as much strength as you could gather. You struck his chest, struck his side, and then went for the throat; you slammed your knuckles into the flesh. He pulled back, hacking and sucking in bated breath.

The whistle sounded, alerting you that the bystanders could now throw items into the ring. Objects clamored to the floor all around you, kicking up dirt and sand. You weren't strong enough to take him down with your fists alone, as you thought at first.

You knew, now that you were within minutes of passing out, that you were too scrawny. He was all man. Your fists did nothing.

If you moved for an object further away, he would notice and intercept. You skimmed your feet and the surrounding area, eyes locking on a torn-off wooden chair leg. It would have to do. You couldn't risk moving out further. You bent down to pick up the wooden leg whilst your opponent gathered his breath.

You had to finish this.

 _Now._

Your call to battle was silent; you sprinted at him, weapon up, ready to swing, when you thought a powerful enough hit to his head would send him to oblivion...

He... ducked.

 _Of course._

In that instant, you knew it was over.

 _I'm such a_ _dumbaah_ _~_

He attacked in a flurry of movement, hit to your chest, hit to your side, hit to your shoulder. The world swam as darkness leered closer to your pupils, threatening to swallow you whole. You were swaying, uncoordinated, perhaps appearing drunk, although you _promise_ it was the pain.

You tried as hard as you could to stabilize yourself against his attacks.

There was no way.

A sharp and acute pain ripped up your arm, sending stars into that well-progressed blackness.

In the future, you would look back and be pleased with that outcome. You never had to endure the no doubt colossal blow to your skull...

... Because you blacked out before it landed.

* * *

You knew that smell.

With how many times you'd woken up next to a dumpster, the stench of rotting food and mold would be eternally engraved into your brain.

Dull aches and pains began throbbing to life throughout your body; oh how sleep took away the pain~ how you missed that blissful numbness every time you woke up.

You groaned loudly and began going through the motions of waking your damaged body up. A leg twitch here, finger flexing~ _ouch. Okay. That arm is not okay._

Opening your eyes, you looked down at your arm~, it was wrapped in white bandages, tightly from the feel of it, yet you could still see a line of blood soaking through the cloth. It was a few inches wide, running down the length of your forearm.

That... That was harsh.

At least they'd bandaged it before the workers dragged you and dumped you.

That's what happens when you lose a fight and have no one there with you. They'd throw your unconscious body into a van and dump you in an ally. Most of the time, they'd take the cash out of your pockets as a travel fee.

You stopped carrying paper money with you a long time ago.

You blinked away the fog in your eyes, patting down your jacket, relieved when you touched the thick square of your phone.

It was still there, and no one snatched it. You'd cut a pocket into the inside lining of your jacket for that exact reason. You trusted no one around here.

You shifted, vaguely aware of the crunching under your ass. Your vision wobbled at the movement. This sucked.

Could you get up yet?

Placing a hand on the brick behind you, you attempted to pull yourself up~

~And promptly lost any energy you had and slumped against the wall.

Nope, you weren't getting up right now.

"Yup, that's great." You half groaned, half whimpered. Your head lulled to the side as you took a weak glance towards your only companion: the dumpster.

You weren't strong, or clever, or anything, really.

You fought for money and could only afford to live in a shit-hole. You couldn't get a job because you had no identification, the perks of running away at thirteen.

High school diploma? Nope, the best you had happened to be a middle school graduation card you made with red and black glitter on the last day of school.

It's probably still hanging from the fridge at home.

 **_Home._ **

_Why do you still call it that?_

You cleared those thoughts by speaking aloud, grounding yourself. "Yeah, it's fine. That's fine. You're fine." A huff, "I'll just wait."

It's not like you hadn't been in this situation before. You had been to many alleyways in the several years since you wound up in Ebott. They liked dropping people off in places like these. You'd been put inside a dumpster once like the trash that you were. It was pretty funny. But it still sucked.

Sucked ass.

Now that you thought about it, this particular dumpster seemed familiar...

"Are you... Alright?"

You blinked again, wondering which was more urgent, the fact that you could barely perceive past a wall of giant-ass clouds in your eyes or your mental state because you swear to _S_ _atan_ that dumpster just _spoke._

"Uh..." You leaned, getting a good glance at the trash can. You heard movement from the dumpsters opposite side. Then, fucking Slenderman slid into your field of vision. Tall, dark, with a white face. Your eyes widened as you tried to make sense of this sudden reality.

He had eyes, cracks leading from them, and a mouth~, although the long, black-dressed torso resembled the suit of the iconic video game character~ this wasn't Slenderman; it was a monster. Those guys existed; you'd forgotten about it because they rarely visited the slums of Ebott. For a good reason.

Good, that meant you weren't imagining everything or hearing things.

"I'm good." You muttered, once more you shifted to a better position. Your back was killing you; a deep set, grating pain budded in your spine every time you moved a certain way.

You almost expected the monster to shrug and walk off, though you should have known better. The species were... Undoubtedly kind, kinder than any human could ever hope to be, that much was written in stone. He approached you as if you were some rabid, injured animal.

Perhaps you were.

He stopped a few feet away and stood straight; you could already tell the guy thought himself important just by his stance- with the way his hands folded behind his back.

"You don't look fine." He affirmed, tilting his white skull to the side. He didn't smile, mouth set in a firm, almost uncaring line.

"I just need a bit." Pulling out your phone, you checked the time. One in the morning, You'd gone into the ring around nine; you must've been passed out this entire time.

"What're you doing wandering around this time of night anyway?" You tried to stand up again; this time, you managed to get to your feet. He leered forward as if to help you when it was clear you were struggling. You moved away from him, though. He got the message and stepped back.

"Taking a walk?" The monster responded, head still tilted. You stared up at him, annoyance bubbling up inside. You despised people seeing you in pain, watching you weak. You could tell him to buzz off, but that wasn't nice. You were rough around the edges, but you weren't an asshole.

"At one in the morning?" You leaned against the brick wall. _There we go._ This was the best position you could get into; the aches and pains dulled. He was still much taller than you, but you felt less scrutinized now that you were standing. 

"Yes." That was it. That's all he gave you. You pursed your lips and cocked an amused brow. What a weirdo, taking walks on the street this time of night, especially in the slums of Ebott.

"That's weird." You told him. "You're weird."

"And laying with garbage, groaning as if you're dying, isn't?" You couldn't tell if he was joking or not; something in his tone made you feel like he was, but his face was placid and free of emotion. He still had his hands professionally folded behind his back.

"I never said it wasn't." You replied, a little grin on your face. "It's my favorite pass time." You drove a dirty hand through your curly, unmaintained hair. You needed a shower. Now that you thought about it, you began craving it.

You tested out the use of your legs; aside from some muscle strain, they were fine. You could walk home like this. Your eyesight was still a little wonky, and you'd probably stumble tiredly home like a drunken sleaze, but at least you'd make it there.

"Thanks for checkin' on me, Slendy." You offered him a gentle smile, one that showed your appreciation. His mouth bent into a frown at the nickname. You stepped around him, towards the mouth of the ally. "But im heading home."

"You're injured." It was a statement, one that stopped you from moving further. Gods, these monsters were too considerate for their own benefit. A human wouldn't have bothered to stop and see if you were alright. You turned and shrugged.

"I am, but ill be good as new in the morning." His eyelights trailed over your arm, over the bandage that would need to be replaced soon.

For the first time, he moved his hands from behind his back. He held one out to you. It had a perfect hole right through his palm; in said palm was a tiny piece of candy, wrapped in red.

"Here. It should help."

Don't take candy from strangers. That's what your wealthy parents had taught you when you were little. Your parents had taught you many things that you didn't listen to.

You snatched up the candy with quick and precise movements; having barely enough money to get by meant you couldn't buy items like candy or junk food. Plus, it was free. You never turned down free.

"Thanks, Slendy." Stuffing it in your pocket, you gave him a final wave, turning your back to the strange monster for the first and probably last time.

"Later." You threw up your hood and walked away.

* * *

The walk home was long and painful. The door closed behind you, and you slumped against it, breathing the familiar air of your dwelling.

Bath. Bath now.

You staggered to the bathroom, stripping from your stained clothes on the way, completely naked by the time you reached the room. You turned on the hot water and sat on the toilet while you waited for the tub to fill, rolling the piece of candy around in your palm.

Sitting on your own accord felt astounding. You could already imagine how pleasant it was going to feel once you laid down in that tub. The candy crinkled, pulling you from those delightful thoughts. What exactly could this piece of candy do to help you?

You never looked into the monsters, not actively. What you knew was passed down to you through idle conversation mostly held by strangers you walked by. You were either sleeping or fighting; you had little time to research the species on your own.

You unraveled it and plopped it on your tongue, moaning at the taste. It was the sweetest thing you'd sampled in a long time. It melted within seconds. Your eyes widened, amazed. You thought it was hard candy...

You also figured it was _just_ candy until all the aches started to numb, your vision cleared, the headache you'd been supporting for the last few days vanished.

Holy _shit._

Gripping the bandage around your arm, you unraveled it, wincing at the sting it left. As soon as the cloth was off, whatever had managed to heal was null; it began bleeding again.

Apparently, it hadn't worked on gashes.

You could barely stand to look at the wound, long and nasty; clearly, whatever the man had gouged you with was sharp. It cut past muscle and would definitely need stitches.

You couldn't afford a hospital visit.

Blood trailed to your elbow and dripped to the floor. You shot into action, grabbing your first aid kit from under the sink. There was not much left in it, but fortunately, there was gauze. You wrapped a washcloth around it, then sealed it tightly with the bandage; you would have to wait for it to heal more before you could clean it.

You sighed, fishing through the drawers for your Advil. You pulled out four and downed them without water.

You needed more of those candies.

But for now, these would have to do.

You slipped into the scalding water of the bath, unable to hold back your moan. You could lay there forever, pretend you had no troubles to get back to.

 _You could have had it all._

You sunk deeper into the water, closing your eyes.

 _You could have had it all, a flawless, limitless life._

"Shut up." You growled at your own thoughts, but the whispered words were already alive in your mind.

 _You chose this._

 _Now live with it._

* * *

You know those days when you go to sleep, and you sleep, like, ten hours, yet when you wake up, it feels like you've just laid down?

Yeah?

That's how you felt today. Twelve in the afternoon, your eyes cracked open. The painkillers had worn off during the night, and you could feel everything down to which spinal notch was giving you the most trouble. Before anything, you reached for the almost empty bottle of Advil on your nightstand and swallowed a concerning handful.

You needed to fight again today. You needed three hundred more to secure last month's rent. Then you needed seven hundred more for this month. Altogether a thousand. What day was it? How long did you have?

A quick check of your phone proved you had just under five days to accumulate what to you was a small fortune. 

Your stomach growled at you, tightening into a cramp. You curled into yourself, hugging the blankets to your body. As much as you wanted to sit in bed for the rest of your life, you needed to get up.

You dragged your feet from your room into the kitchen. The fridge was a sad sight, only holding some water and out-of-date lunch meat. You shut it with a sigh, then bent down to grab a can of soup from under the counter.

While you microwaved the chicken noodle soup, you toasted a couple pieces of bread and scrolled through Facebook on your phone. You barely looked at the articles and memes, mostly just thumbing through stupid pictures of people you barely knew. You never posted anything and only used it as a relief for boredom.

Something caught your eye, though. A face that was still fresh in your mind. You stopped scrolling, squinting at the blurry picture of a tall monster with a white face. The picture was so bad in quality that he literally just looked like Slenderman staring from a distance at whoever took the photo. Still, that fact alone alerted you to just whom this was.

Your eyes skimmed over the article.

 **_'The monster species greatest mind: Dr. W.D Gaster._ **

_Late Monday morning, Dr. W.D Gaster announced his first step into combining human and monster medicine, as well as a review of his current progress into human SOUL research._

 _The renowned royal scientist says his goal is to combine humans current research in medicines with what is known of the monsters practice, to hopefully come up with a nearly instantaneous remedy to heal severe wounds in both species~_

The microwave beeped, startling you out of your focus, your stomach snarled at you, warning you that there were more important things to worry about, turning off your phone, you snagged up your soup and toast, and dug in.

You had no idea that tall weirdo was famous; had you known, you would've probably leached off him a little more. You were both curious and confused about the skeleton monsters actions; why would someone like that bother to help you? 

What would he gain from it?

 _What could you gain from it?_

You slurped up your soup with quick intent; meeting someone like him was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and although he lived in the area, you doubted you would see him again.

You were just trash, lowest of the low, scum festering in the darkest areas of the famous city. He probably forgot all about you.

It didn't matter; you needed to focus on money. Otherwise, you'd be out of a place to live, a safe place. And you'd be living next to the dumpsters you always found yourself waking up next to.

After you ate, you returned to your bed. You needed more rest before you fought again.

* * *

Walking up to the door to the grounds, you didn't bother retrieving your pass. The bouncer looked down at you, his ever-present frown growing.

"Ugh. Your back." He complained like your very presence was the cause of his problems. He moved to face you head-on, arms crossed. "Don't know why you keep coming here Y/N, you lose almost every fight you sign up for~" you pulled a face, partly hurt by the words, but you knew it was true.

"Hey, come on, I win some." He gave you a pointed look

"You lose because you don't let yourself heal~," he said

"I don't have time to heal. I need money now." You argued back

"Not gonna get any in your state." The bouncer muttered offhandedly, with a roll of his eyes.

"Shut up and let me in, Jeff."

Jeff stared at you, long and hard. His eyes narrowed as if he would deny you; you puffed up your chest and glared back at him.

"Whatever." He stepped aside. You smirked at the short-haired man before slipping by him.

"One of these days, your gonna get yourself killed." Jeff threw back at you, clearly concerned before you had a chance to disappear down the stairs.

You stopped, hesitating. His words sunk deep into your soul, and you knew he was right.

"Probably." You answered, disappearing down the stairwell.

* * *

You lost. Again.

You went for a cheap flight, two hundred, hoping it would be easy enough to knock the person out.

The woman who entered the ring was small, skinny, just like yourself. The sight of her gave you hope that you'd win _something._

She had been much faster than you and probably younger. She attacked with barely a pause and in a way that reminded you of an adaptation of kung-fu. Had you been well-rested and fully healed, the fight would have been easy to win.

You were neither of those things.

And Again, you lost.

This time, you woke up laid across a bench at a bus stop. You had sat up and started at a slow blinking traffic light, lost in swelling, negative thoughts.

 _You're so stupid, Y/N._

 _You never learn._

Elbows on your legs, you leaned over with your head in your hands, your head was pounding again, you could taste blood in your mouth from one of the woman's hard hits.

Life sucked.

You began to wonder why exactly you were still here, questioning the actions of your younger self. How on earth did you think you'd be better off anywhere but at home?

What was your goal? What _is_ your goal?

Before you knew it, you blinked, tears rolled down your cheeks, mixing with the specks of blood on your face. The traffic light continued its steady yellow blinking, caring nothing for your inner turmoil.

You found it hard to gather the strength to stand up and walk home. Part of you wished a car would drive by, so you could step in front of~

"I don't think the bus comes out this late." His voice startled you; the first thing you did was wipe the tears off your face, smearing them over your skin.

You looked up, and there he was. The same monster from last night, this time he looked down at you with a shallow smile so thin it barely raised his lips. 

Annoyance once again thrummed inside you; you scoffed and gave your hair a little yank. "Don't you have better things to do than patronize people?" There was venom in your voice, and you felt bad for the way you spat it at the monster, who in no way earned that kind of attention.

You looked away, not wanting to see the look on his face. You could hear him step closer; the sound caused your shoulders to raise and your fists to clench.

"Rough day?" That was all he said.

You let out a breath. "...yeah."

The area went quiet. The silence dragged on long enough for you to wonder if Gaster had left. You looked up from your staring contest with the pavement, surprised to now see the monster sitting beside you.

There was enough distance between the two of you to be comfortable. He was leaned back; one leg kicked up over his knee, arms folded over his chest.

So you wondered, as you stared at his smooth skull, why the fuck he was taking time out of his day to sit next to you.

"...why are you here?" You grumbled, crossing your arms.

"That look in your eyes." He spoke up; you could tell he was studying your turned head like you were one of his experiments. "I don't think you should be alone."

Your annoyance burst into sudden anger at his accusation and the meaning behind his words. This fucking stranger. This _famous_ stranger.

You opened your mouth, not entirely sure exactly what you were going to say. He interrupted you by speaking first.

"My name is Gaster." He said.

"Y/N." You muttered, still refusing to look at him.

Gaster dangled a piece of candy in front of your vision, the action startled you at first, but as soon as you recognized what it was, you snapped into action, snatching it from his digits.

You wasted no time unwrapping it and shoving it into your mouth.

You let its sweetness take over; it melted in your mouth, dissipating almost all your pains. The anger you held went away with it.

"Better?"

You hummed, letting your eyes close. How weird was it that your paths crossed again? Just how long was his nightly walk? Once the candy was gone, you wiped at your face again with the back of your hand, well aware of how scummy you probably looked.

"You got any more?" You asked. With zero hesitation because Yeah, you really wanted more.

You watched the skeleton check his pockets. He frowned. "Not with me." He answered. "But if you'd like to join me on my walk, I could retrieve some."

Something about taking a walk with this scientist didn't sit right with you, but then again, he had been nothing but kind even when you had treated him as an annoyance. You rolled your foot, making sure that walking would indeed be possible...

"Yeah, sure." You shrugged and stood, following after the strange, tall skeleton. You both took to the streets.

You had walked these streets plenty of times, but not once had you walked them with somebody. Thankfully the skeleton had a pace that you could keep up with, and instead of small talk, you both opted to remain somewhat quiet.

Every once in a while, he would hum something as if answering a question in his mind. The silence you were starting to enjoy stopped once he turned down a street that led away from the slums, towards the heart of the city.

"Do you get in a lot of fights?" Gaster asked, and you arched a brow, curious as to why this skeleton was asking you questions. You hadn't had this amount of attention on you since you left home all those years ago. It was... Weird.

You didn't hate the guy; something inside you stopped you from doing such a thing. You looked up at him as you walked. The street lamps lit up his skull and caused his eyelights to glow brighter.

You concluded that he was handsome. You liked how you were almost half his size, though, for anyone else, the size difference would have bothered you.

"You could say that." You tugged at your jacket sleeve, ignoring the throbbing coming from your arm. That shit still fucking hurt. You wondered how many candies it would take to heal it.

Gaster hummed. "Do you..." He paused, then continued hesitantly. "Do you have a place to stay?" You cringed the second those words left his mouth.

You looked down at yourself, taking in your old ruffled jacket and your grey sweat pants. They had their fair share of stains and rips because they were your favorite things to wear. You washed them once a week, and it just dawned on you that, to anyone with money, that wasn't normal.

You hadn't changed clothes because you didn't exactly care who saw it, your face lit up in embarrassment, you stuffed your hands in your pocket and hunched your shoulders, staring down at the ground, your walking sped up.

"I'm not homeless." You spat, harsher than you meant for it to sound. Then, quieter, you added. "Why do I look homeless?"

Gaster _laughed._ It was short and quiet but a laugh nonetheless.

"Yes." He answered.

 _Oof._

 _"_ Very."

 _Double oof._

You didn't think your face could get any redder. You threw your hood up over your hair and scrunched in on yourself as you walked with him. Now hyper-aware of every hole in your shirt and each speck of dirt on your shoes.

 _You chose this life._

 _Now live with it._

"Are you pouting?" He questioned. You could detect the smirk in his voice, and you sneered.

"Fucking no, I am not fucking pouting. Shut the fuck up." You bit back, voice quiet and lacking in intensity.

"That's a lot of fucks." Gaster replied evenly.

"Fuck off."

"Were Here." You stopped and glanced up from your death stare at the ground. His home was what you expected from what you learned about him earlier that day. Two-story, it probably had more than three bedrooms. The panels were a deep maroon color, trimmed with white. It was cute, and you were jealous.

When your eyes landed on the porch, a frown grew on your face; overgrown bushes threatened to spill over the railings, there was a tipped-over chair, with a few full garbage bags around it, his mailbox was half tipped, mail bulging out of it.

"Don't mind the mess." He said, watching you stare. "I'm a very busy monster. I don't have much time to clean." He led you up the porch steps, the light bright and inviting.

You knew you shouldn't have, because of privacy and all that, but you peered in through one of his windows to get a glimpse inside~ but found your vision obscured by a wall of file boxes.

Gaster turned the key to his door and opened it. He stopped just before entering and bowed slightly. "Would you like to come in?"

This was the first time you'd ever been invited into someone's home. Your feet refused to move, and your mind told you to say no. This was a stranger, someone you had known for a day, someone who certainly looked like they would murder you.

But the longer you stood there, the more you wanted to. You didnt want to be lonely. You wanted a friend; you hadn't had one since middle school.

"Is there anyone...?"

"No, I live alone." He answered, still holding the door open for you.

"Okay." You muttered and following him inside. He closed the door behind you, and you took in his dwellings.

It was... Sort of a mess. Every object with a flat surface had a coffee cup on it, alongside papers. The floor needed a vacuum, and there was a layer of dust on _everything._ You did not expect this, not from his personality. Not from how you saw him carry himself.

"I'll be just a moment." He told you. "Take a look around, but please don't touch anything; there's organization to this chaos, I promise." You smirked but understood. If you had money to get things, your house would probably look like this too.

"There's a cat around here somewhere. His name is Fidget, dont let him see your feet. He will attack them." With that, he walked away to wherever he kept his candies.

You stayed in the same spot he left you, unsure how exactly this worked. Did you sit down? Walk around? Explore? None of those options seemed doable, especially when every chair in the vicinity had items stacked atop it.

So you decided just to stand there. It wasn't long before you heard the cat in question. He came trotting from one of the hallways, meowing with every step until he stopped right in front of you.

He was cute, orange with white stripes and pale eyes; doing your best to keep your feet away from him, you bent down and immediately went to petting his soft fire.

"Hi, you." His body vibrated as he lit up in a purr. He circled you and rubbed against you, butting his head into your hand.

"Oh, your so precious."

You always wanted a cat but could never afford one. You remember your old home having a few cats but could only recall one. A pure black, old bitch of an animal named Midnight.

Fidget mewled in such a way that had your heart-melting, you squatted, using both your hands to scratch both sides of the cat's face.

"Hi, baby." You leaned down and placed a quick kiss on his nose. "Such a sweet man." 

You yawned, running your fingers through the cat's super soft fur. You wanted to check the time but didn't want this kitty to leave should you stop giving it attention, so you held out.

You squatted there for five minutes; then you heard thumps; glancing up, you were witness to Gaster scampering down the stairs two at a time like he was in some kind of rush.

"My apologies." He asserted upon reaching the bottom. "I couldn't find my box, but I got them now." You stood up a little fast and smiled at the sight of three candies in his grip. He came up and held them out to you.

"I wouldn't recommend taking them all at once, though there shouldn't be a problem in doing so." He told you, after gently placing them in your hand.

He stared at your hand for a long moment, and when you observed, you realized it was because there was blood on it, was it yours? Or that other woman's?

You couldn't tell.

You shoved both hands into your pockets and laughed nervously. "Heh, yeah. Thank you. These things work better than Advil so~."

"They're healthier than Advil as Well." Gaster abruptly stated with a sneer, like he had a personal grudge against it, which was totally plausible. They weren't exactly good for you. Not in the quantity you took them.

There was an awkward moment where the both of you just stood there and watched each other, You looked him in his eyes, and he glanced away, proving that you weren't the only being here with socialization issues.

"I have work that I need to attend to." _At one in the morning._ You thought. Gaster broke the ice, rubbing his shoulder in what you assumed was a nervous gesture.

"Oh right, cool, okay." You began, inching back towards the door. This was where you booked it, right?

"Would you like me to walk you home?" he questioned, stepping after your steady retreat.

"No! No, that's fine. Thank you tho. And thank you so much for the candy." What else was there to say? 

"You're welcome. Sometime this year, they should be out on the shelves for purchase; until then, please let me know if you need anymore."

He gave you a long once over. You were definitely washing your clothes when you got home. Knowing your luck, you'd lose tomorrow and run into the scientist again.

"I'll let you know!"

"Take care of yourself, miss Y/N."

Rubbing the back of your neck, you replied almost jokingly. "I'll uh, heh, thanks ill try. See yah, Slendy."

You'd never scooted out a building so quick in your life. You seriously went to this famous guy's house just to leach a cool pain medication off him; awesome YN, real nice.

 _Total friend material._

Shoving your hands deep into your pockets, you began at a brisk walk back the way you came.

* * *

Getting home from here was difficult; you'd never been to the heart of Ebott city before and only lived on the outskirts. After half an hour, you managed to find a street you knew, and by then, the rest of the walk home was easy. You got there by three AM, Tired and sore.

Instead of sleeping, you hand-washed your clothes in the sink, scrubbing out as many stains as you could before hanging them to dry over the shower curtain. Some marks wouldn't come out, but at least you looked less _homeless._

You peered at yourself in the bathroom mirror, touching each little scar that adorned your face; you tugged at your long curly hair and, for the first time, wondered if you should invest in a hairbrush. 

After running away, gaining friends was the last thing on your mind. You always assumed that one would come to you- but why would they, when you looked like something the city rats dragged in? 

You sighed at yourself, flicking off the bathroom light, refusing to look in the mirror at the damaged person who stared back. 

If you had money, you could buy better clothes, maybe get your hair done, and eat more than one meal a day, but you didn't. 

You needed to focus on rent first.

Before getting ready for bed, you knelt before your bed and dug beneath it for your money box. Popping the top open, you gazed upon a whole five dollars and some change.

 _It's fine._

 _This is fine._

You tucked it safely back under your bed, then crawled under the covers.

You'd eat before you fought again tomorrow, you were hungry, but it could wait. Shutting off your nightstand light, you looked through your bedroom window, up at the smog-covered sky.

Gaster. A weird man, but he wasn't that bad to hang around. He seemed friendly enough and was concerned about both your mental and regular health, despite having only known you for two days.

Next time you saw him, if you ran into him again, you'd ask for his number.

He would be your first friend since middle school, should he accept. 

For the first time in a while, you fell asleep with a tiny smile on your face.

* * *

* * *

**_Chapter 2 Preview_**

* * *

* * *

_"Borrow?" The noise had you snapping your head to the doorway just in time to see the fat cat waddle his way into the bathroom to join you. "Hiii fidget, long time no see buddy." You greeted him, intending to reach down for a friendly pet when you realized both your hands were currently occupied and very wet._

 _He came up and rubbed against your leg with a loud eternal purr. You leaned your limb against him to show the cat that yes, you still loved him; you just couldn't use your hands right now._

 _The orange animal's head flicked to the side and locked on the cuff with an intensity you'd only seen in hunting lions on animal planet._

 _Needless to say, you knew you fucked up._

* * *

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this then consider checking out the original story You Don't Need Saving, it can be found on my page.
> 
> See any mistakes? Let me know. This is barely beta'd and im always seeking improvements.
> 
> Thank you for reading, See you next post. :]


End file.
